7 Wonders Duel

Overview

The Pyramids weren’t built by the Romans nor was the Temple of Artemis by the Egyptians. But in 7 Wonders Duel, all that can actually take place! As a leader in the ancient world, you’ll be tasked with collecting or trading for resources so that you can build possibly not one, not two, but FOUR mighty structures that include the Great Lighthouse, the Colossus, and even Appian Way! In the process, you’ll also need to keep your science on track so as to not fall behind and maintain a military to keep out looters and outright conquerors.

7 Wonders Duel is a 2-player game in which players draft cards in a manner that reveals new cards similar to that of mahjong matching games. Each player picks a card from the common pool of cards to keep and takes turn alternating. These cards range from those that provide various resources, make it cheaper for you to acquire resources, build up a military, build minor monuments that give you glorious points, and science buildings that push your civilization’s progress forward. And, like in 7 Wonders, you can also build your Wonder of the Worlds to completion! Or sacrifice cards in exchange for money if you happen to be broke.

But with all these changes to 7 Wonders comes a big balancing act. More ways to win also means more ways to lose. Your opponents will be looking to exploit any weaknesses in your military to relieve you of precious coin as they smash all that you hold dear. Also, watch out for their ability to progress with wondrous technologies or you may find yourself in a losing battle as your plodding system grinds along inefficiently. And never forget: this game is called 7 Wonders Duel. There can only be 7 Wonders. Play wisely.

Core Mechanics: Card drafting.

Victory Condition: Winning at 7 Wonders Duel generally means scoring the most points. Ways in which to obtain points range from constructing your Wonders or go for special guild buildings that reward you based on how many buildings of a certain type have been built. On top of that, there are two other avenues in which to win: you can go for a science victory, which involves trying to collect 6 different science symbols, showing that you’ve progressed technologically beyond your opponent. The second option is to build your military to the point where you go in to thrash your opponent’s base willy nilly. It’s an especially attractive option if you’re behind on points.

Ease of learning: Because this game has far fewer symbols than 7 Wonders, 7 Wonders Duel is far easier to learn. There might be a bit of difficulty in explaining that buying resources costs more if your opponent owns the resources you need or what all the symbols on the Progress Tokens means, but once you progress past that, it’s a simple affair. New players might miss out on buildings that they can build for free because they’re not paying attention to the alternate symbol requirements, but repeated plays will take care of that.